


Every Chamber Left Beating

by Cimmeria



Category: The Illuminae Files - Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Genre: Family Bonding, Family Feels, Gen, Obsidio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:41:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23123431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cimmeria/pseuds/Cimmeria
Summary: Nik visits Ella on the Mao, sometime before the battle of Kerenza VI.(rated for swearing)
Relationships: Nik Malikov & Ella Malikova
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	Every Chamber Left Beating

**Author's Note:**

> There's not nearly enough fanfiction for this series so I was forced to write some myself :)  
> This is my first post on AO3! I don't really know how it works... but enjoy!

“Grant Sr. just leave?”

Ella blinks slow, like the little action takes up too much of her precious energy. Her fingers rest perpetually upon the computer rig in front of her, tenderly brushing the keys, feeling along each ridge and bump. Nik wonders if she’s thinking about Anansi, and then he stops that train before it leaves the station because he can’t think about Heimdall. He just can’t.

He sits down on the very small and very uncomfortable chair next to her bed and pulls it forward until his knees press up against the frame. Ella reaches up a frail hand to the oxygen mask around her face. Nik can see the way it doesn’t quite fit well enough to the sharp contours of her face. It was probably made for an adult who actually had some meat on their bones. He notices the recent addition of puddy that’s filling some of the gaps.

“Yeah,” she says. “Feelin’ better already, cuz. Pretty soon I’ll be able to walk.” Nik laughs and it’s not even a hundred percent fake (Madonna, the stirring and knotting in his gut won’t go away no matter what). She fits it back over her face, taking a deep breath, before lifting it minutely again. “How’s Blondie?”

“Amazing as always. She’s got all this tactical shit figured out. Those Beitech goons don’t stand a chance out there, especially with me and Babyface blasting ‘em all to hell,” he tells her. Nik’s not actually sure how much blasting he’s going to be able to accomplish once the fight comes. There is a very real possibility that he’s going to freeze up and then it won’t be Beitech getting blown out of the sky. It’ll be him and Ezra.

Ella either sees what he’s thinking all over his face or it’s just what she’s supposed to say right now. “Yeah, I know you will. And I get to cover your ass while you do it, too, so there’s no chance—” she pauses, eyelashes fluttering over her cheeks, and takes a shallow breath through the mask. “No chance you’re gonna—” she stops again.

“You don’t have to talk,” Nik says and hopes she doesn’t take too much offense to that. She’s tougher than nails and they both know it, but right now there are dark shadows falling under her eyes and under her cheekbones and she seems to be sinking into the bed. “I can ask yes or no questions.”

She flips him off for a brief moment, hand quickly dropping back onto the keyboard on her lap. The other hand stays pressed heavy over the oxygen mask, though, and she doesn’t make a move to lift it again.

Nik casts a glance over the machinery surrounding her. His eyes trace the recording of her vitals, moving up and down in a steady thrum, and he breathes a sigh of relief. She’ll be okay. She’ll be here with AIDAN and Kady, it’ll be fine.

Her goldfish, Mr. Biggles, sits at her left, drifting lazily in its stale water. Nik hopes she’s been feeding it right. He seems to remember an issue with that before.

“Do you ever think about us in the other universe?” The words kind of just fall out of his mouth, maybe a bit of a premature transition from in his head to the world.

Ella nods, and then to his frustration, lifts the mask and mumbles, “Sometimes.”

“Do you think they were all the same as us? I mean, up until their untimely deaths.” Nik forces himself to make eye contact with Ella. If for nothing else, to remind himself that she’s alive. “Childhood wise?”

Ella looks at him, green eyes dull under the harsh lights of the medbay. “You’re not asking yes or no questions,” she says.

“What? Yes I am. ‘Yes, Nik, I do think they were exactly the same as us,’ or ‘No, Nik, I bet you were a movie star in Universe B.’ That’s you.” He points at her and she rolls her eyes in response.

“Yes,” she says, and then looks pointedly back at her computer screen, tapping on the keys.

Nik drums his fingers on his knee for a few seconds before giving in. “Fine, maybe they require explanations.”

Her lips tick up for a brief second and she draws in a long breath before picking up the mask once again. “Considering the mixup that no one noticed, I’d say everything was exactly the same up until… you know. We all died.”

“Yeah. That’s what I was thinking, too.”

“Niklas Malikov thinking? Sounds fake.”

“Haha,” he says, returning her lovingly-given middle finger from earlier. They lapse into a short-lived silence.

“Why were you thinking about that?” Ella asks quietly.

This is when he looks away from her, instead focusing all his attention on Mr. Biggles. Or Mr. Biggles II. Mr. Biggles Junior?

“I just…” he starts and stops. The fish darts around its small habitat, scales shimmering under the light like obsidian. “No one’s there to miss them… us. In the other universe. Hanna’s dad died, Uncle Mike too. And Erik’s still gone. And, y’know, it’s kind of the same here.”

“It’s not the same.” Her tone is sharp and Nik glances at her, a little surprised. “It’s not the same. We’ve got a lot of people who’ll miss us if we die. Kady and Ezra and Isaac and every survivor on this ship and everyone still alive on that God-forsaken colony that we’re gonna save.”

“Yeah, but—”

She shushes him. “Also. You’re not gonna be stupid enough to die before we’ve finished this. And if you even think about dying, I’m gonna kick your ass.”

Nik looks at his hands, and even though he kind of feels like crying, the corners of his mouth tick up a little. “Can I smoke in here?” he says, totally not as a distraction.

“I wouldn’t try it.”

“Can I stay here?”

“As long as you don’t have something you’re supposed to be doing,” she says and takes a deep breath from the mask. Nik leans forward and rests his forehead on her bed. The blanket’s a little scratchy, but he finds that he doesn’t really mind it.

He feels Ella’s hand drop onto the back of his head. Her fingers scrunch up into his hair for a second, nails briefly scratching his scalp. “You need a fuckin’ shower, cuz. Your hair’s pretty gross.”

“Shut up,” he mumbles. “You’re one to talk.”

“You know what? I changed my mind, I’d bet Universe B Nik never insulted his perfect and amazing cousin.”

“Well feel free to rip another hole in the universe and grab a different Nik. It worked out great last time.”

“Nah. I wouldn’t trade your sorry ass for anyone,” she says. “Now shut up, would you? I’m actually working, unlike some people.”

Nik closes his eyes and smiles for real, face hidden against the scratchy blanket covering Ella’s legs.

**Author's Note:**

> I was reading Obsidio and I figured that Nik and Ella deserved more bonding time, so here's this. It's a little similar to the conversation that they actually ended up having, but I wrote this before I read that scene and also I get to do what I want.  
> (Also how do you write endings??? someone help me)


End file.
